Miami vs. New York...Rivalry Renewed! By Deron Butler

The Miami Heat are back in the NBA Playoffs once again, this time as the number 2 seeded contender. With the Heat as the number 2 seeded team, you ask yourself who is the number 7 seeded team that will undoubtedly face a first round exit? It's none other than the dreaded New York Knicks. Miami hasn't had a playoff series against New York since 2000 and back then we still had ill will towards the likes of Patrick Ewing, John Starks, and Anthony Mason. I remember as a child of the 90s, watching the NBA on NBC's coverage of the NBA Playoffs, rooting for the Heat and embellishing a disgust for the Knicks. From the fights to the exchange of attitudes and even nail biter shots, it got me all the way emotional just looking back at those moments. It was basketball at its finest and now we get to see the Heat and the Knicks once again in the playoffs. Instead of Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and P.J. Brown, Miami has LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, whereas the aforementioned Knicks legends are replaced by Carmelo Anthony, A'Mare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. This series will be entertaining to watch from beginning to end as nba.com announced this matchup being the marquee series of the playoffs. Although, it's all fine and dandy, sadly, there will be no Linsanity to go around as sensational ball player Jeremy Lin is out injured for the season. It would've been nice to see how Lin would fare in a playoff series match, especially against Miami but you get what you can. Tomorrow, the Heat will embark on their playoff run in front of their Miami faithful and the world. For homework, just watch Game 1 of Miami and New York at 3:30 pm (eastern standard time) on ABC and the entire series thereafter. I'll be watching along just like any other basketball enthusiast...and casual basketball fans that wait for this one particular part of the NBA season to commence.

I am Deron Butler, telling you to get White Hot and Wake Up!

Down The Stretch By Deron Butler

With the NBA Playoffs looming around the corner, every NBA team is scrambling for positions to for home court advantage. Of course, this also regulates to the Miami Heat as well as each game becomes more important one after the next. Yesterday's game against the Boston Celtics were an indication that Boston, though they have an experienced trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, are sparking at the right time, having knocked off the Philadelphia 76ers for first place in the Atlantic Division, and while they managed to beat Miami back to back, one wonders if the Celtics would get their revenge on Miami after being eliminated by them in last years playoffs. As for Miami, going up against the top contenders of the east has been an uphill battle. Not only have they lost back to back against Boston, but they also lost to Chicago and Indiana as well. The Heat play Chicago tomorrow night in a crucial game that will determine whether or not Miami's ability to put away the Bulls in last season's playoffs was not a fluke as some doubters have speculated. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, as solid of scorers that they are need to involve Chris Bosh more in these types of games, heading down the wire but only that, the Heat need to make sure that every player is healthy, have adequate minutes on the court, and be able to contribute on offense and on defense. I can't stress this enough in my head just thinking about how Miami will perform late in the season. For homework, watch the Miami Heat against the Chicago Bulls on TNT, and also focus on teams such as Chicago, Indiana, and Boston in the east as well as potential NBA Finals opponents including San Antonio, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers (yes them), and especially the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I'm Deron Butler telling you that Heat Basketball is the best basketball.